Hi,
I am raising this issue every once in a while...
Is there any plan to make the app less monolingual? See https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=34100
Currently, the app shows content only in one language. It's possible to switch to another language according to the interlanguage link, but the searching will always be in one language until changed in the preference.
Back when the feedback mailing list was active this was one of the most requrested features, and I personally strongly support it.
At the very least, searching must work in the language of the currently displayed article, because seeing content in one language and searching in another is badly confusing.
Better yet, there should be a way to define several "favorite languages" in which the user is interested, and to show search results from all of them.
Any chance of that happening soon?
-- Amir Elisha Aharoni · אָמִיר אֱלִישָׁע אַהֲרוֹנִי http://aharoni.wordpress.com “We're living in pieces, I want to live in peace.” – T. Moore
How about having the search box placeholder text specify the lang and when the search box is empty, since there's no need for a clear button, have instead a small lang switcher button?
On Nov 18, 2014, at 4:03 AM, Amir E. Aharoni amir.aharoni@mail.huji.ac.il wrote:
Hi,
I am raising this issue every once in a while...
Is there any plan to make the app less monolingual? See https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=34100
Currently, the app shows content only in one language. It's possible to switch to another language according to the interlanguage link, but the searching will always be in one language until changed in the preference.
Back when the feedback mailing list was active this was one of the most requrested features, and I personally strongly support it.
At the very least, searching must work in the language of the currently displayed article, because seeing content in one language and searching in another is badly confusing.
Better yet, there should be a way to define several "favorite languages" in which the user is interested, and to show search results from all of them.
Any chance of that happening soon?
-- Amir Elisha Aharoni · אָמִיר אֱלִישָׁע אַהֲרוֹנִי http://aharoni.wordpress.com “We're living in pieces, I want to live in peace.” – T. Moore _______________________________________________ Mobile-l mailing list Mobile-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mobile-l
I kinda like the idea of a language switcher button in the search ui, along with a shortlist of most-frequently-accessed languages. I think we could make it fairly nonobtrusive for people who don't use it while making it super easy to activate for those for whom its a major feature.
-- brion On Nov 18, 2014 9:40 AM, "Monte Hurd" mhurd@wikimedia.org wrote:
How about having the search box placeholder text specify the lang and when the search box is empty, since there's no need for a clear button, have instead a small lang switcher button?
On Nov 18, 2014, at 4:03 AM, Amir E. Aharoni amir.aharoni@mail.huji.ac.il wrote:
Hi,
I am raising this issue every once in a while...
Is there any plan to make the app less monolingual? See https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=34100
Currently, the app shows content only in one language. It's possible to switch to another language according to the interlanguage link, but the searching will always be in one language until changed in the preference.
Back when the feedback mailing list was active this was one of the most requrested features, and I personally strongly support it.
At the very least, searching must work in the language of the currently displayed article, because seeing content in one language and searching in another is badly confusing.
Better yet, there should be a way to define several "favorite languages" in which the user is interested, and to show search results from all of them.
Any chance of that happening soon?
-- Amir Elisha Aharoni · אָמִיר אֱלִישָׁע אַהֲרוֹנִי http://aharoni.wordpress.com “We're living in pieces, I want to live in peace.” – T. Moore
Mobile-l mailing list Mobile-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mobile-l
Mobile-l mailing list Mobile-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mobile-l
Hey Amir,
Thanks for the email! It's nice to know we have someone so dedicated to internationalisation involved in the app's development. :-)
On 18 November 2014 04:03, Amir E. Aharoni amir.aharoni@mail.huji.ac.il wrote:
Is there any plan to make the app less monolingual? See https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=34100
Considering we support switching to every language Wikipedia out there, I think it is a bit hyperbolic to imply the app is overly monolingual. :-)
Back when the feedback mailing list was active this was one of the most
requrested features, and I personally strongly support it.
We absolutely could handle language support better. However, that work needs to be balanced relative to our other priorities.
Right now, what we're working on benefits every single person that uses the app. We're making search better so people can find what they need. We're improving the presentation of the content in articles so that it's more consistent and more beautiful. And we're working on giving people suggestions of what they can read next. Given that this work improves the app for everyone, it has to take priority right now.
At the very least, searching must work in the language of the currently displayed article, because seeing content in one language and searching in another is badly confusing.
The current way we do things is confusing, but I actually think what you're suggesting here is *more* confusing in the context of an app.
On desktop or mobile web, the way you read an article in another language is to go to another website. The interface changes language (in most cases), the logo at the top right is in a different language, the URL is different, and so on. So, conceptually, it makes sense that search will function in a different language; you're on a different website!
In the app, however, you're not actually going anywhere; conceptually, you're not loading a different app, it's the exact same app fetching content in a different language. I'm not convinced that choosing to read a specific article in another language, a feature which works on a page-by-page basis, should change an app-level setting and start searching in a different language.
Better yet, there should be a way to define several "favorite languages" in
which the user is interested, and to show search results from all of them.
If you've not already, please file a bug for this. It's something we can explore further down the line. However, for the reasons laid out above, our focus is on improving the overall reading experience for everyone.
Thanks, Dan
Monte/Dan: Yes, this has been proposed for the Android app in https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=71136 and https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=34100.
On Tue, Nov 18, 2014 at 11:06 AM, Dan Garry dgarry@wikimedia.org wrote:
Hey Amir,
Thanks for the email! It's nice to know we have someone so dedicated to internationalisation involved in the app's development. :-)
On 18 November 2014 04:03, Amir E. Aharoni amir.aharoni@mail.huji.ac.il wrote:
Is there any plan to make the app less monolingual? See https://bugzilla.wikimedia.org/show_bug.cgi?id=34100
Considering we support switching to every language Wikipedia out there, I think it is a bit hyperbolic to imply the app is overly monolingual. :-)
Back when the feedback mailing list was active this was one of the most
requrested features, and I personally strongly support it.
We absolutely could handle language support better. However, that work needs to be balanced relative to our other priorities.
Right now, what we're working on benefits every single person that uses the app. We're making search better so people can find what they need. We're improving the presentation of the content in articles so that it's more consistent and more beautiful. And we're working on giving people suggestions of what they can read next. Given that this work improves the app for everyone, it has to take priority right now.
At the very least, searching must work in the language of the currently displayed article, because seeing content in one language and searching in another is badly confusing.
The current way we do things is confusing, but I actually think what you're suggesting here is *more* confusing in the context of an app.
On desktop or mobile web, the way you read an article in another language is to go to another website. The interface changes language (in most cases), the logo at the top right is in a different language, the URL is different, and so on. So, conceptually, it makes sense that search will function in a different language; you're on a different website!
In the app, however, you're not actually going anywhere; conceptually, you're not loading a different app, it's the exact same app fetching content in a different language. I'm not convinced that choosing to read a specific article in another language, a feature which works on a page-by-page basis, should change an app-level setting and start searching in a different language.
Better yet, there should be a way to define several "favorite languages"
in which the user is interested, and to show search results from all of them.
If you've not already, please file a bug for this. It's something we can explore further down the line. However, for the reasons laid out above, our focus is on improving the overall reading experience for everyone.
Thanks, Dan
-- Dan Garry Associate Product Manager, Mobile Apps Wikimedia Foundation
Mobile-l mailing list Mobile-l@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mobile-l